Roller ratchet assembly for straight edges



p 1, 1954 E. c. NORMAN 2,689,405

ROLLER RATCHET ASSEMBLY FOR STRAIGHT EDGES Filed March 27, 1952 Fig. I.

Eugene 0. Norman INVENTOR. BY fiaudofi'n ($1 8M Patented Sept. 21, 1954ROLLER. RATCHET ASSEMBLY FOR STRAIGHT EDGES Eugene 0. Norman, SantaBarbara, Calif., as-

signor to Pettersen Manufacturing Company, Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif.

Application March 27, 1952, Serial No. 278,797

3 Claims.

in my co-pending application Serial No. 236,546

for Pointer Attachments for Straight Edge and Roller Assemblies, filedJuly 13, 1951.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a straight edgedevice having means effecting movement of the straight edge over asurface such as a drafting board or sheets of printed matter toconstitute a guide for typists and the like, and wherein the straightedge will be maintained in parallelism to itself during such movement.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an attachment inconformity with the preceding object'wherein small and uniformincrements of movement may be imparted to the straight edge.

A still further objector the inventionis to provide a straight edgedevice as set forth in the foregoing objects wherein the increments ofmovement imparted to the straight edge may be regulated with precisionand celerity.

These, together with various ancillary features and objects of theinvention, which will later become apparent as the following descriptionproceeds, are attained by the present invention, a preferred embodimentof which has been illustrated, by way of example only, on theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, parts being broken away, of a straight edgedevice incorporating therein the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view taken on the left of Figure 1;

a Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional detail view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of Figure1; and

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional detail view taken upon anenlarged scale substantially upon the plane indicated by the sectionline 4-4 of Figure 1, different positions of the device during operationbeing indicated in dotted lines therein.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, whereinlike numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views,

it will be seen that the device in accordance with this inventionincludes a convential form of straight edge or ruler indicated by thenumeral I0 and upon which is secured a pair of support arms l2 as byscrews I4. The arms 12 are preferably secured to the'top surface of thestraight edge adjacent the ends of the latter and extend rearwardlytherefrom, these arms terminating in cylindrical bosses It and by meansof these bosses the arms are journaled rotatably upon a tubular shaftl8. Upon the ends of the shaft l8 are suitably fixed a pair of knurledsupporting rollers 20 of any suitable material and conventional design,and it will be appreciated that the shaft 68 has its axis disposed in aparallel relation to the beveled forward edge 22 of the straight edge.

As so far described, it will be apparent that the straight edge may beplaced upon a drafting board or a sheet of printed material and may bemoved therealong to parallel positions to assist the draftsman or to aidthe typist or copyist or proofreader as a guide.

Between its ends, shaft I8 is provided with a pair of intermediateknurled rollers 24 and between these rollers is fixed a central portionof a lever arm 26. One end of this lever arm is bifurcated as at 28 andis provided with a set screw 30 extending transversely thereof. Throughthe bifurcated portion of the lever arm is a screw threaded bore 32, seeFigure 4, in which is screw-threadedly engaged the upper externallythreaded shank portion 34 having a headed lower end 36 adapted to beardownwardly upon and engage the uppersurface of the straight edge It. Aknurled finger grip knob 38 is fixedly secured to the shank adjacent theheaded portion 36 and constitutes a means whereby the shank may berotated and adjusted towards and from the straight edge.

At its other end, the lever is provided with a finger grip portion 49and in its hub portion 26 is provided with a bore 42 in which isdisposed a ball-type of clutch or ratchet grip 44, urged downwardly asby a compression spring 48 into contact with the shaft I8. A threadedplug 48 is received in the enlarged upper end of the bore 42 to retainthe compression spring and the clutch or ratchet member in positiontherein.

The arrangement is such that when the lever 42 is pressed downwardly asshown by the arrow 56 in Figure 4, the ratchet ball will lock upon theshaft 18 and cause the latter to pivot in a clockwise direction, therebymoving the rollers 20 from the full line to the dotted line positionshown in Figure 4, carrying with the rollers and shaft l8 the straightedge through the linear travel indicated by the numeral 52.

Upon release of the lever handle 40, the weight of the other end of thelever 26 will cause a counter-clockwise rotation of the safe from thedotted line to the full line position shown in Figure 4, thereby causingthe straight edge to remain downwardly upon the surface over which ittravels.

The amount of movement of the lever 26 is regulated by the adjustingscrew member 35, 38, this member, being in abutting engagement with theupper side of the straight edge l0, limiting the counter-clockwisemovement of the lever (see Figure 4) and consequently of the leverfinger grip portion 40. As the lever is rocked clockwise, the rollers20, 24 which support the device rotate through a corresponding are andcause a proportionate travel of the straight edge. This travel is veryaccurately adjustable by the screw member, which adjustably limits theupward movement of the portion 40 and hence the travel of the device.

The apparatus is readily adjustable to cause travel of the same overprinted matter in line by line sequence as the portion 40 isintermittently depressed, greatly facilitating the work of typists,copyists and proofreaders. Similarly, the straight edge can beaccurately manipulated to facilitate such work of the draftsman ascrosshatching or the like.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of theforegoing specification and accompanying drawings, it is not desired tolimit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, butall suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A ratchet lining device comprising, a straight edge, an axle havingsupporting rollers at its oposite ends, means journaling the straightedge upon the axle for free pivotal movement thereon,

a lever journaled on said axle, a ratchet mechanism carried by saidlever and engaging said axle for imparting a step by step rotation tothe axle, means for adjusting the stroke of said lever and the extent ofrotation of said axle, said last means comprising a member operativelyinterposed between said lever and straight edge, said lever having itscenter of gravity between said axle and said straight edge.

2. A ratchet lining device comprising a straight edge, an axle havingsupporting rollers, means journaling the straight edge upon the axle infixed relation, a lever journaled on said axle, a ratchet mechanismcarried by said lever and engaging said axle for imparting a step bystep rotation to the axle, means for adjusting the stroke of said leverand the extent of rotation of said axle, said last means comprising amember operatively interposed between said lever and straight edge, anda pair of supporting rollers on said axle on opposite sides of saidlever.

3. A ratchet lining device comprising a straight edge, a pair ofsupporting rollers, an axle rigidly connected to said rollers andextending therebetween, means journaling said straight edge upon saidaxle for free pivoting movement thereabout whereby both said rollers andsaid straight edge may continuously rest upon a supporting surface, alever pivotally mounted upon said axle between said rollers, a ratchetmechanism carried by said lever and directly engaging said axle forimparting a step by step rotation thereto upon pivotal oscillation ofsaid lever upon said axle, said lever having a 'journal bearingreceiving said axle therein and a clutch bore in said lever intersectingsaid bearing, a clutch member in said bore engaging the portion of saidaxle which is journaled in said bearing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FranceJune 28, 1950

